Background of the Study

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapterpresents an introduction which includes general background of the study, reasons for choosing the topic, research questions, purposes of the study, significance of the study, and also outlines of the report.

1.1 Background of the Study

It is almost impossible to say exactly how many words there are in English. However, it is still important for English learners to learn English vocabularies as many as possible. The idea that vocabulary is a prominent aspect needs to be taken into consideration in learning language is supported by Harmer 1991: 153. He claims, if language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh. In l ine with Harmer‟s argument, another expert mentions, “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” Wilkins in Clouston, 1994: 69. It can be concluded from his statement that if we spend most of our time studying grammar, our English will not improve very much. We will see most improvement if we learn more words and expressions. We can say very little with grammar, but we can say almost anything with words. Both Harmer‟s and Wilkins‟ statements mean that vocabulary plays an important role in learning a language; having strong vocabulary mastery will help students not only in a particular skill but in any language skills. When students have a great vocabulary, 2 the latter can improve all areas of communication, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing Mukoroli, 2011: 7. Since vocabulary is considered as a very important aspect to be possessed by English language learners, it is essential for English teachers to help their students in mastering vocabulary in order to gain the proficiency in all of the skills the researcher has mentioned. However, due to some limitation and constrain, in this research, the researcher will only focus on one language skill, that is reading skill. In doing reading activity, it is essential for the students to have a deep understanding of important words available in the passage they are reading. This argument is supported by Mukoroli 2011: 4, who points out, as the difficulty of words in a text increases, understanding of the text decreases; therefore, it is critical for students to have a deep understanding of academic vocabulary in order to understand new concepts. Because of its important role in reading development, vocabulary instruction has been a well-researched area in the field of education for many years Hanson and Padua, 2011: 4, and it is an area in which the researcher continue to gain new insights. Unfortunately, such a frightening problem remain exists. Based on the data the researcher got when she did a preliminary study at one of the most well known junior high school in Wonosobo, SMP N 1 Wonosobo, most of seventh grade students of the school found that it was difficult to identify and remember the meaning of new words. It means that they face a 3 problem in vocabulary mastery. Bellows are the data she got after distributing questionnaire sheets to the students of VII C: Table 1.1 students’ problem in learning English taken from 26 students of VIIC Problem Number of Students Vocabulary 11 Listening 9 Grammar 4 Pronunciation 2 The table shows that 42. 3 of the students consider learning vocabulary as an uneasy task to do. According to them, the most difficult part is remembering the meaning of every single word they have ever found, or which is explained by their teachers. Learning vocabulary is indeed, an uneasy, a boring, and a frustrating task to do. The result of this preliminary study was similar to Diana‟s 2010 opinion which was written in his thesis. She mentions, the problems that they usually faced are the difficulties in memorizing new words and their less interest in learning English. This phenomenon stimulates the researcher to create a new enjoyable media namely TV Cards and also do a research to explore the effectiveness of the media in improving students‟ English vocabulary mastery. 4

1.2 Reasons for Choosing Topic